1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tractor mounted harvesters, and, more specifically, to structure for attaching an implement such as a cotton harvester with rear mounted row units to a tractor.
2) Related Art
Previously available tractor mounted cotton harvesters have included those with one or more picker row units mounted forwardly of the tractor drive wheels. Other types of mounted pickers have included row units supported on the rear of a tractor modified to normally run in the reverse direction. More recently, rear mounted harvesting units have been devised for the rear of a tractor so the tractor can operate in the conventional forward manner. An example of such a unit is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,988 which is assigned to Deere & Company and shows cotton picker units mounted for harvesting cotton planted in very narrowly spaced rows. An earlier stripper type of cotton harvester mounted on the rear of a tractor is shown in Deere & Company's U.S. Pat. No. 4,348,856; various structures have been devised for mounting and dismounting a rear tractor mounted harvester, an example of such a structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,131 which is also assigned to Deere & Company. Although these harvesters permit the tractor to be used for purposes other than harvesting, mounting and dismounting the harvesters are often difficult and time-consuming tasks.
Another problem with previously existing rear, tractor mounted harvesters is difficulty in adapting the harvester for use on tractors of different designs. Although a mounting structure may work well for one tractor type, a different tractor type may require a redesigned or extensively modified structure and mounting procedure. Therefore, providing a simple and easy to use design that is readily adaptable to many different types of structure without extensive modifications to the structure and mounting procedure has been a continuing problem. The problem is further complicated by the need to adapt the harvester to a variety of tractors made in different countries and with different design criteria.